God, I just can't believe it

[shipperx]

I grew up in a small town in the middle of freaking no where. It was the kind of place where you left your house and car doors unlocked and know just about everyone in town (only about 7,000 people even live there and most have for generations). Things just don't happen there.

God.

A couple of houses down from the house where I grew up lived Dr. and Mrs. Jones. They were aunt and uncle to some of my best friends. They were parents to two kids a couple of years younger than me --astonishingly attractive blond-haired, blue-eyed kids which they had adopted. They had the big house with the swimming pool and he was half partner of one of the only two Dr. groups in town. Joanna, the older kid, I remember as this very beautiful, very shy girl a couple years younger than me. Her younger brother, Jason, was the guy my mother would always ask over to the house to fix her computer for her. He was good at it and my sister and myself were too far away. Jason, had(has?) a problem with drugs. Has had since high school. He's been in and out of treatment programs and pretty much entirely supported by his parents even though he is in his mid twenties (he flunked out of college years ago.)

Last night he took a knife and sliced his mother's throat. Stabbed her to death. Murdered his father,too. Took his mother's Mercedes and ran into an embankment going 100mph. These were my NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS when growing up. These were people I'd still see at college football games because they had tickets not far from ours. This was a kid I had watched grow up. He was cute. Nice, if somewhat troubled. His parents were nice too.

I can't believe this. They said it was a horrific murder. Very, very bloody. He sliced her throat and stabbed her repeatedly. The next door neighbor heard screaming at 4am but for some damn reason never called the police (nothing ever happens in that town).

I just. . . can't believe it.

And, God, poor Joanna. Her ENTIRE FAMILY is dead, or as good as. (Jason lived through the car crash and is in the ICU).

This is just astoundingly awful. I can't imagine them dying that way. I can't imagine him DOING this. It had to be the drugs. Surely it had to be the drugs. He wasn't a violent or dangerous kid. They were exemplary parents. I just can't believe it. Just can't believe it.

Comments

[paratti.livejournal.com]

I just don't know what to say, what can you in such awful circumstances. It's terrible. My thoughts are with all concerned.

[xionin.livejournal.com]

wow.

i just...i don't even have words.
i'm so sorry that this madness touched your life.
and that poor girl...

my heart goes out to her.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'm so, so sorry. I don't even know what to say, but I'm thinking of you.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It's just all surreal. It's the kind of thing you see on TV to people you don't know. But this was the house down the street when I grew up. These were people who were at all the parties my parents had. The mother's sister was my English teacher in high school. My brother-in-law did a rotation of his internship under the father. My mother would invite Jason over (and I'm talking like WEEKS ago) to fix her computer. I remember when I was a Sr. in high school the JETS (Jr. Engineering Technical Society) would sponsor a beauty contest for the school (Yeah, that never made a lot of sense), and I remember Joanna being so nervous back stage, and so sweet, and so lovely, and so, so shy. We all knew that she and her brother were adopted. I remember when they were very little people saying that they had been adopted into such a nice family. That all of this has happened is. . . surreal. It's something that you see on TV. It's not something that REALLY happens down the street. . . except it is. And the old cliche keeps running in my head -- but he was such a sweet, quiet kid. But... he was.

It's just surreal.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

That is just too freaky and very, very sad. :-(

[shapinglight]

Lisa, that's terrible! Don't know what to say.

Re:

[shapinglight]

Very inadequate comment. I can only think that he must be mentally ill in some way.